International Qantas flights are not on the horizon for South Australians

It’s been more than a decade since Qantas last departed SA for international pastures, so with the introduction of more direct overseas routes will the red kangaroo follow suit? Have your say.

Tourism industry leaders have called on the national carrier Qantas to service the people of South Australia with direct international routes.

The last direct international flight operated out of Adelaide Airport was QF81 to Singapore which departed in April 2013.

Since then, the state has been without a direct international commercial Qantas flight.

By comparison, Qantas operates two international routes out of Darwin — daily flights to Dili, East Timor, and four flights a week to Singapore.

Earlier this year Qantas’ announced it would introduce 28 A321XLR airbuses to their fleet, which some in the industry viewed as an indication Adelaide international routes would resume.

Speaking at the fleet’s Hamburg factory in March this year, Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said international flights out of Adelaide were on the company’s radar.

“I think that Adelaide will absolutely be a route, and a network that we look at,” Ms Hudson said.

“I’ve actually had conversations with the Premier of South Australia, and we know that getting Qantas back into international would be a goal that we have.”

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson photographed aboard the new Qantas A321XLR in the Airbus factory in Hamburg.

Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox remained confident Qantas would soon serve the people of South Australia by flying them to the rest of the world.

“Our discussions with Qantas are continuing and we are confident it’s a matter of when, not if, we will see a red kangaroo tail flying internationally from Adelaide,” Mr Cox said.

“Much depends on the timing of the delivery of new aircraft to the Qantas fleet such as the Airbus A321 XLR, which would be a great fit for Adelaide because of its size and range into Asia.”

Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox standing in front of a Qatar aircraft — one of the eight airlines that currently services international routes out of Adelaide. Picture Dean Martin

Dennis Bunnik in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Picture: Supplied

However speculation was not enough for tourism industry heavyweights who weighed in on Qantas’ disservice to the state — all hoping for future routes.

The Tourism Industry Council of SA said they would “love to see Qantas announce new routes internationally”.

“Connectivity and direct access is really important — whether its for business or leisure,” chief executive Shaun de Bruyn said.

“Direct access to international markets is important for everyone in the industry.”

Dennis Bunnik of Bunnik Tours said Qantas needed to “lift its game” when it came to servicing South Australians.

“We need more domestic flights and international flights connecting us to places like Singapore and New Zealand,” Mr Bunnik said.

“They have not treated Adelaide well in terms of building capacity and access.”

Phil Hoffmann of Phil Hoffmann Travel said he was “disappointed in Qantas”.

“It’s still seen as the national carrier — we would love them to be flying out of Adelaide,” Mr Hoffmann said.

“I’m disappointed Qantas has not seen us as a good hub internationally.

“They keep saying new aircraft will unlock new routes — I’m waiting for that to happen.”

Originally published as International Qantas flights are not on the horizon for South Australians